Why it matters: Elliott's strategy, like those of other activist investors, intensifies the structural pressure on once-stable utilities. As declining utility demand, stiffer competition and increased consumer interest in distributed services challenge legacy service models, utilities are struggling in part because some owners are playing a profit-squeezing short-game at the expense of long-term planning.

The impact: In the face of fresh competition and shifting market requirements, utilities are largely retreating, not repositioning. Despite large cash volumes, utilities have not invested in the technology, systems and talent to seize emerging opportunities. That’s partly a failure of leadership, but it's also a failure of capital structures that value dividend returns over long-term planning.

The bottom line: Like the landline-to-mobile-phone transition, the electrons-to-smart-home transition will create winners and losers. Elliott’s back-to-basics strategy for Sempra is just one example of how short-term thinking risks impeding long-term viability in rapidly changing markets.